I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for measuring blood glucose concentration, and more particularly, to a non-invasive technique for measuring blood glucose concentration using near-infrared radiation diffuse-reflection laser spectroscopy.
II Prior Art
Generally, diabetics measure blood glucose concentration two to eight times daily using a portable measurement apparatus consisting of a syringe (to obtain a blood sample) and appropriate reagents (to measure the amount of glucose in the blood). This is known as the "enzymatic" method or test.
The enzymatic test for glucose concentration is undesirable both because it requires that blood be drawn and because it is expensive. Less expensive techniques based on test paper have been introduced, but they are less accurate and still require that blood be drawn. Accordingly, research has been conducted to address these problems.
It is desired to provide a method for measuring blood glucose concentration that is accurate and does not require the drawing of blood.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a noninvasive technique for measuring blood glucose concentration, that is, to eliminate the need for drawing blood for this measurement.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a convenient, inexpensive, portable, easy-to-use apparatus for measuring blood glucose concentration.